Last week, Social Security Deputy Commissioner Michelle King tried to reassure Capitol Hill Democrats about the presence of two Elon Musk's allies in her agency.
The Social Security Administration maintains medical information, bank account numbers and other sensitive personal data about the approximately 70 million Americans who provide more than $1 trillion in benefits each year. In a February 11 letter to Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat of Oregon, King said that two representatives of the so-called government's Department of Efficiency, or Doge, had not yet seen personal information. . Established procedures.
“I share your commitment to protecting sensitive personal and financial information from inappropriate disclosure and misuse,” she wrote in a letter viewed by the New York Times. “We will comply with all relevant laws and regulations when granting access to an SSA system.”
A few days later, Musk's team sought access to agency data. Ms. King resisted the request, and by Monday night she and her chief of staff, Tiffany Frick, had been out of their job, according to three people who are familiar with their departure. The Trump administration temporarily led the agency Leland Dudek, a relatively low-level staff member who had previously worked with Doge.
The Social Security Bureau's episodes that did not respond to requests for comment have been recurring repeatedly across the federal government. Musk's team of software engineers has repeatedly sought free access to the wide range of personal information the US government gathers about its residents in its stated quest to eradicate fraudulent government spending. This request was often used to jealously protect data that improper disclosure could violate federal law.
At the Internal Revenue Agency, Musk's team is trying to provide at least one member, a software engineer named Gavin Kliger. year.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said it is necessary to allow Doge to the taxpayer system to prevent inappropriate payments. “We're talking about conducting a basic anti-burn review to ensure that people are not engaged in a massive theft of federal taxpayer benefits,” he said on Monday. He said in an interview with Fox News.
IRS officials question how much information Kliger and other Doge staff are questioning to achieve that. Three well-versed in the issue said that Kliger's family will be able to see American jobs, investments and details about investments. The IRS has created a memorandum that will establish parameters regarding Krigger's duties at the tax agency, and is expected to be detailed from the Human Resources Bureau. An IRS spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.
“If you're interested in whether your IRS programs and computer systems are efficient, you don't need taxpayer information to make that decision,” Nina E. Olson, executive director of the group that accused him of. states. IRS on Tuesday's Doge Access issues. “You can do that using anonymized data.”
Trade unions and state governments have filed a series of lawsuits challenging the Trump administration's ability to give political appointees the ability to view and potentially change government databases. In some cases, federal judges have temporarily blocked access to sensitive data, when those focused on access to Treasury's payment systems. Other federal judges refuse to do so if other agencies are involved.
The struggle between Musk and career civil servants is the security of data that has been routinely targeted by hackers and fraudsters who want to exploit Americans, says former government officials and experts. The house says. Quick changes to often old and complex technology systems that house data will also inadvertently break them down and cascade the technology problems across the government.
“They could accidentally reduce the safety of their systems, which would be a scammer's dream,” said Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, which promotes the expansion of Social Security. . “For all the information you have in your hands, it would be a treasure trove.”
Among the records the federal government holds in the IRS, there is company information, including companies Musk competes with. Earlier this month, Russell T. Vert, director of the White House's Office of Management and Budget, announced that two people familiar with the request had given all uncategorized information to staff members of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. I was instructed to take over the work.
It is unclear what the Doge staff at the station actually saw. However, agents have a huge amount of data from electronic payroll companies such as Zelle, Venmo, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. All of these will directly compete with your X Money account. This is the payment system under development for Musk's social media site X. .
The Consumer Financial Protection Agency, which aims to protect consumers from unfair and deceptive financial practices, has launched several investigations into the electronic pay system. Data collected in the survey included communications between executives, secret business plans and market analysis, according to one of the people.
Last week, the agency cancelled several technical contracts that maintain an audit logging system to track those who gained access to data, the employee said.
Many civil servants have been wary of Doge's quest to examine the sensitive government system, but some have become keen on it. Dudek, now a representative of the Social Security Administration, has created a LinkedIn post to support Musk's team.
Dudek, who refused to respond to requests for comment in one post last week viewed by The Times, wrote that the Social Security Agency is working with Musk's team to investigate him. He then deleted his LinkedIn account.
“I confess. I bullied agency executives, shared executive contact information, avoiding the chain of orders and connecting with those who have achieved Doge,” he wrote. Masu. “Everything I have done so far serves our country, our beneficiaries and our agents.”
Trump has appointed payment processing executive Frank Vignano to lead the Social Security Agency despite waiting for confirmation from the Senate.
Alan Rappyport Reports of contributions.
